Start-up animal rescue filling void

Monday

PLAINVILLE -- When five tiny kittens came into the care of Kathy Dahlstrom and Annette Oliveira of Wrentham two weeks ago, the mother and daughter were charmed and saddened at the same time.

The kittens have come to be known as "The 495 Five" after they were abandoned in a plastic carrier alongside Interstate 495 in Wrentham on May 29. It was a hot day, causing the carrier to become unbearably steamy; if it had not been for a passing driver who saw the kittens and took them to Wrentham Police, the heat may have claimed their barely started lives.

"This one was just a little bundle in the palm of my hand," said Dahlstrom, cradling one of the kittens in the crook of an elbow while sitting in a living room of her Wrentham home on a recent evening. "He was still in a sleeping state, so calm, not afraid of me. It was obvious they had been handled."

The idea of still-nursing kittens deposited in a closed carrier at the side of a highway was beyond comprehension for the two women. But what they do understand is homelessness among cats and their offspring, and they are part of a new organization that aims to help.

King Philip Animal Rescue, a new affiliate of Bay State Animal Cooperative, fills a void recently left by the recent closure of Paws of Plainville. Dahlstrom is a director of the non-profit, along with co-founder Paula Pasquantonio of Plainville. Oliveira serves as the director of social media. Everyone involved, says Dahlstrom, has a full-time job and does the work of the organization on a volunteer basis.

Fundraising is underway for the animal rescue, not only for the group's famous group of rescues -- The 495 Five -- but also to support their mission to provide a safe and loving place for homeless cats to stay while awaiting adoption.

"We're trying to get a building," said Dahlstrom, noting the group is working with Wrentham and Plainville Animal Control Officer Chris Wider in hopes of finding a place in one of the two towns.

KP Animal Rescue is a start-up operating as a network of foster homes focusing on sheltering and finding adoptive families for homeless kittens, in addition to spay/neuter and release efforts for adult feral cats. Once they have a building, they foresee expanding to include other animals. Plainville and Wrentham are the core towns, although Dahlstrom and Oliveira said the rescue will do what it can to help anyone seeking assistance.

The 495 Five are a prime example of the need for a shelter. Since the kittens -- three all-gray females and two gray and white males -- were found, Dahlstrom and Oliveira have been giving the kittens all the tender loving care they need to thrive.

Pasquantonio started by making sure the four-week-old kittens were properly hydrated with a milk replacement.

"We syringe-fed them," said Dahlstrom, confiding that when she first met the kittens they were such a heartbreaking little bundle of fur that she cried.

The kittens had to be fed every four to five hours. They have now graduated to a mash of milk replacement and kitten food that they can lap up without any assistance -- and they do so very noisily, to the delight of their caretakers.

"They're pretty much eating out of the dishes now," Dahlstrom reported a week after the five were rescued, going on to add with a chuckle, "I change their bedding all the time because they are messy little goomies."

As a nod to the kind-hearted souls in the world, the kittens have been named for five famous philanthropists.

"There's Diana after Princess Diana, Maya after Maya Angelou, and Gloria after Gloria Steinem," said Dahlstrom, who has four cats of her own -- all rescues. "And the boys are Martin after Martin Luther King, and Gandhi."

Each one has its own little personality. Martin, for example, is very gregarious and loves people, while Gandhi is -- appropriately -- a very calm and serene little being. All five love being held.

Dahlstrom and Oliveira say the kittens "have been ripped off" by being torn from their mother at such a young age, and as their foster "parents" the two have been doing all they can to meet the kittens' needs -- lots of cuddling, which the two gladly deliver, along with the help of Oliveira's 4 1/2-year-old daughter Bella and visitors. The more arms that can offer hugs and the more hands that can offer belly rubs and rubbing between the ears and under the chin, the better.

All five have adoptive families waiting for them to get big enough to come to their forever homes. KP Animal Rescue received at least 140 applications to adopt the kittens, as well as many offers to help with fundraising to get a shelter up and running.

"It (the fundraising) is for the whole organization, so we can do good by other animals in need," said Dahlstrom.

Diana, Maya, Gloria, Martin and Gandhi will be ready for their forever homes once they reach two pounds, have tested negative for worms, have received their distemper shots and have been tested for feline leukemia virus (felv).

"It's definitely going to be hard to let them go," said Oliveira, but it will bring joy to everyone's hearts "to see them with their forever families."

Donations to KP Animal Rescue can be sent c/o Paula Pasquantonio to 3 Chestnut St., Plainville. For more information, call 508-576-8990 or (ideally) email kpanimalrescue@gmail.com. For the latest updates about the 495 Five and the fundraising, visit the Facebook page: King Philip Animal Rescue.